Playing through a great single-player video game like 'Bioshock' can be a rich and engrossing experience, but when it comes to fun factor and laugh-out-loud moments with a few of your friends, nothing beats a great party game like, say, 'Guitar Hero World Tour' (pictured above). The party game genre, which generally includes a multitude of pick-up-and-play mini-games designed for four or more players, has been getting more and more popular as video gaming goes mainstream. To be honest, we've never before seen as large a collection of party-worthy games -- all of which are due by the end of the year (or early next) -- as were on display at this year's E3. Here are the ones we think you should unleash on your guests at upcoming parties:

Rock Band 2 - What more can we say about 'Rock Band 2'? The music game that took players beyond the guitar and brought a whole band to the genre (minus the pain of the inevitable breakup and eventual deafness) is back for an encore with 84 new songs from original masters by everyone from Devo and the Go-Gos to Talking Heads and Motorhead. Its developers also promise compatibility with "most songs" in the original game. It's not exactly a huge step forward for the franchise, but if you've played the first version, you're probably not looking for much. 'Rock Band 2' is hitting the Wii, PS2, PS3, and Xbox 360 this fall.

Guitar Hero World Tour - 'Guitar Hero' made rocking out with a friend while holding a little plastic guitar acceptable, and 'World Tour' will extend that basic premise to the whole band, à la 'Rock Band,' by adding drums and a microphone and letting several party guests participate at once. This was the most impressive looking music game at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, with new multiplayer modes (like battle of the bands) and extensive song-creation tools, as well as the addition of 85 new music tracks from artists like Metallica, R.E.M, and even David Lee Roth, to help this aged franchise maintain its kick. 'Guitar Hero World Tour' hits the Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC too this fall.

You're In The Movies - Gamers are used to pushing buttons, of course. Lately, they've also become used to talking into microphones and waving their arms about to control games. Moving around in front of a motion-detecting camera, though, is still something many gamers are wrapping their heads around. After a few minutes with 'You're In the Movies,' though, and everything makes sense. The camera records you as you play through some silly mini-games like swatting flies or running in a race, then stitches recorded footage of everyone playing those games back together to make a little movie staring you and your friends. The one shown to us took the footage and made a '50s monster-movie complete with an overgrown iguana, with footage of us and the folks around us seamlessly integrated into it. The result is huge laughs for up to four players when the game ships this winter, but only if you have an Xbox 360.

Wii Sports Resort - 'Wii Sports' is a modern classic, and 'Wii Sports Resort' is a logical extension, taking you to a tropical setting and adding a handful of new games to the mix that make use of Nintendo's new MotionPlus add-on to amp up the sensitivity of the Wii controller. The full list of games hasn't been announced yet, but we eid get a chance to check out a sword fighting game, in which players have to knock an opponent off of a raised platform. It alone seemed to be a good sales pitch for the game -- it's a million times more responsive and bouncy than the lame attempt at boxing in the current 'Sports' title. And the Wave-Runner-esque game -- you see, the game takes place at a 'resort' -- was more immersive than anything else we've tried out so far on a home console. The only problem with this game is that it's not due until sometime early next year.

Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party - The little Rabbids are back, and this time your butt gets into the action. Yes, you actually use your posterior on the Wii Balance Board to control one of these white-rabbit-like creatures on a snowboard (making for a nice workout!). Other games include a music dance game and surfing. Ultimately this is just another collection of silly little games on a console that's full of silly little games, but somehow those deranged little bunnies still crack us up. And you and your party guests will certainly have shapely behinds when you're done playing this one. This will be hitting the Wii and Nintendo DS later this year.

Wii Music - Nintendo made a big deal out of this musicgame when it announced it at the beginning of E3 this year -- the idea is that this game is easier to play than, say, the super-competitive 'Guitar Hero,' which can be intimidating for the average gamer. After playing it, though, we're thinking this one's only for those who are truly young at heart. Sure, the game boasts 50 instruments (everything from marimbas and saxophones to sitars and harpsichords) to play, but most don't sound particularly good. Unlike the other music games, which require a certain ability with pitch and rhythm, Wii Music simply asks you to hit random buttons and shake the Wii controller, which is only mildly rewarding. On top of that, there's no scoring and no winner, so it's certainly not much of a competition. Still, it might be fun for a bunch of inebriated party guests who're too out of it to focus on 'Rock Band.' 'Wii Music' drops this fall.

Our House - Another game angled toward younger gamers is 'Our House' from Majesco. In it, up to four players can use their Wii remotes or DS styluses to piece together an abode by dropping in furniture, painting walls, and getting upgrades to build faster than their friends. It's competitive, but in the end, all the gamers can enjoy the look of the new virtual house they built together -- before tearing it down and building a new one. The game hits the DS and Wii later this year.

Imagine Party Babyz - Get four toddlers in a room together in the real world and what do you get? A lot of pooping and screaming and running around, which to most folks doesn't sound like much fun. But in the world of gaming what you get is 'Imagine Party Babyz,' a little party title catering to the tween crowd of girls aged 8 - 14. They'll probably love this collection of challenges that has you playing as toddlers generally getting into mischief and playing games like red light green light while avoiding the gaze of their babysitter. Anyone outside of the tween demographic, though, isn't likely to be too into this one when it hits the Wii in a few months.

We've done the roundup treatment for the big three (Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft) at this year's E3 video game show. Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony have each had their turn to toot their own horns, and now it's time for the publishers to have their say. Yes, these are the third-party developers that are responsible for much of the flood of actual games that will be hitting the various consoles over the next few months. Here's what we liked best:

Guitar Hero World Tour - For many, the battle-of-the-band-games is the highlight of the show. While a certain other game (see the next entry) has been getting a lot of attention lately, many gamers still feel that the 'Guitar Hero' franchise reigns supreme, and Activision's upcoming 'Guitar Hero World Tour' ups the ante considerably. It takes a cue from that other rock title by adding a drum kit and microphone to the gameplay, but goes way beyond the competition by letting you plug a real electronic drum kit into it and by including a detailed-looking song maker. Add in exclusive tracks from Metallica and 85 other songs, all from the original bands, and you have a heck of a package.

Rock Band 2 - Not to be left behind, 'Rock Band' is back, also with a slew of updates, including new, self-syncing guitars, a newer, fancier drum kit, and 84 new tunes -- one less than the competition. But, 'Rock Band 2' will let you import nearly all the tracks from the first game, and it remains to be seen whether that'll be the case for the new 'Guitar Hero.'

iPhone Games - The 3G iPhone is out, and so is the App Store. While there are already boatloads of games on the store to download, none were really on display at E3. Still, we saw fairly tame ones like 'Tetris' and 'Spore,' which we already knew about. What gives?

Raving Rabbids - One of the most popular third-party games on the Nintendo Wii is 'Rayman: Raving Rabbids.' It's simple, stupid, and tons of fun, and that's exactly how its latest follow-up is looking, 'Rayman: Raving Rabbids TV Party,' which is another collection of simple and fun mini-games, including what is apparently the first game to let you play with your posterior.

Star Wars: Force Unleashed - There have been absolutely no shortage of 'Star Wars' games cluttering up arcades and gaming systems since the very beginning. So, it's hard to get too excited about a new one, but 'Star Wars: Force Unleashed' is looking genuinely fun. In it, you play the secret apprentice of a certain Mr. Darth Vader, who is overwhelmed with ridiculously powerful force powers, which you can use to pick up and throw everything from Storm Troopers to whole TIE Fighters. Add in some remote-waving action on the Wii that almost makes you feel like an evil Sith, and you have a hot looking game due this September.

Shaun White Snowboarding - It's hard to get too excited about another snowboarding game, even when it's being fronted by the incredibly talented Shaun White. But mix in compatibility with the Wii Fit Balance Board, and suddenly you get our attention. The ability to lean into the turns and shift your weight to land tricks sounds awesome, but having to keep your feet planted could be a drag.

Games for Girls - Female gamers are the largest growing demographic in games right now, making up a large portion of Nintendo's sales, and buying half of all DS handhelds sold. For this reason Ubisoft is singling out girls with a slew of new tween-specific titles, while Natsume is showing off a new 'Harvest Moon' on Wii title, a franchise that has proven to be hugely popular among girls.

With great games like these coming soon (most near the holidays) it's going to be a busy winter of gaming. Better start saving your pennies! For gaming news from E3, be sure to check out thorough, up-to-the-minute coverage from both GameDaily and Joystiq.

The long delay until Sony launched its video download service (actually more like a few hours), is over. High Definition and standard definition (SD) rentals, and SD purchases from an assortment of movie studios is now available in the Playstation Store by selecting the video button at the top left. Need to know what's available in your region but aren't near your PS3? Check out the website for a list of what awaits. [Via PS3 Fanboy]

When Nintendo announced its Wii gaming console at the Electronics Entertainment Expo in 2004, it all seemed a little quirky to traditional gamers, what with the motion-sensitive Wii remote instead of a traditional gaming controller. Even so, the system's initial strong sales when it hit retail shelves in November 2006 was no surprise (Nintendo has a kajillion fans who will buy anything it produces). Still, it's the continued success of the system is nothing short of amazing. This year at the annual E3 video game conference, Nintendo is resting on its laurels somewhat, with no groundbreaking announcements, but more of what the fans need. Here are the highlights from Tuesday's press conference:

Wii MotionPlus Controller - The Wii controller has definitely changed the way people think about video games, but for all the good it's done, it has some problems. The Wii-mote doesn't really pick up small, subtle movements and it can't detect rotation unless it's pointing right at the screen. But this will all change with the MotionPlus attachment, an extension to the original controller that greatly enhances sensitivity to movement and allows for such nuances in movement that everything from a realistic sword fighting game to chopping down trees from different angles is possible.

Wii Sports Resort - 'Wii Sports' has proven to be the most popular title on the Wii, despite being the first and, in many regards, most simple game on the platform. Nintendo's hoping to capitalize on the title's popularity with a new title that includes some more tropical-themed sports. 'Wii Sports Resort' uses the MotionPlus accessory for many of its games, including fencing, and will come with a single MotionPlus included. No word on exactly what that price will be, or how much additional MotionPlus attachments will cost, or on exact the exact release date, except that it sadly won't be until sometime early next year.

Animal Crossing - Yes, the Wii is finally getting its own version of 'Animal Crossing,' one of the most popular titles on either the N64 or the Nintendo DS, in which players arrive in a new town and must earn money by performing different random tasks. The Wii version is called 'Animal Crossing: City Folk' and will feature the same sorts of distractions found in the earlier games, like fishing and random archeology. Gamers can also now travel into the city to buy new kitsch for their characters, but the real extension comes with the online aspects. Gamers can now invite up to three other players to their towns and actually play directly with them, using the optional WiiSpeak microphone to talk. You can also send e-mails and texts from within the game, but those who have played the original may be somewhat disappointed to see that this one looks almost identical graphically.

Wii Music - One of the first titles shown for the Wii was a game in which players used the Wii Remote to conduct a virtual, onscreen orchestra. After said initial demo, the game disappeared, but it has finally re-appeared as 'Wii Music,' a music-focused game in which you can play 50 instruments, all without having the faintest idea of how they are played! Just tap random buttons on the controller and move like you're playing the instrument and, voila, you'll be part of a band. This is in sharp contrast to other music games such as 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band,' in which you actually have to have some musical ability to excel, but we're not entirely sure how it differs from just getting in front of a TV and playing air guitar, but we'll take it on faith that this game is somehow compelling, since it's the brainchild of Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary creator of 'Mario Bros.' and 'Zelda.'

DS - Nintendo was quick to tout the success of its DS handheld, far and away the most popular portable gaming system in the world at the moment, and bound to be more popular with the announcement of 'Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars' and a new 'Guitar Hero' game, 'Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades,' which will add more tracks and more multiplayer options. Nintendo also talked about plans to extend the functionality of the DS by letting travelers get flight info and weather updates delivered right to the device, but it remains to be seen just how that will pan out (or if it'll end up being at all useful now that most cell phones have similar abilities).

So, an understated start to E3 for Nintendo; no major announcements or shocking revelations, but when you're producing the hottest console and handheld gaming systems on the market, you don't really have much to prove.

For a play-by-play account of the Nintendo press conference, check out the Engadget/Joystiq live blog here.

We knew this one was coming, but we didn't know the details. Nintendo busted out the new MotionPlus Wiimote add-on at its E3 keynote today. The device, which attaches to the rear of the controller, will be used to tighten up and refine motion sensing on the Wii, and its tweaks will be levied in a new game that will be shipping with it called Wii Sports Resort.

The console-maker says the MotionPlus brings 1:1 sensing to the Wii, which will enable detailed control heretofore unseen on the system. We're getting more info (and hopefully a hands-on with the little guy at some point) so stay tuned.

For more, up-to-the-second coverage of E3, check out Engadget and Joystiq.

Microsoft kicked off this year's Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) -- the video game industry's biggest annual gathering -- with a pre-show conference on Monday, and made a number of announcements about extensions to the Xbox 360 gaming console. None were groundbreaking to say the least, but all-in-all, Microsoft looks to be making its console a much more appealing package -- and cheaper, too. Here are the highlights:

It'll be cheaper and have more memory - Actually, Microsoft didn't even mention this at its conference, but instead quietly announced on Sunday the discontinuation of the 20-gigabyte Xbox 360 model (which is being closeout-priced at $299) and the addition of a new 60-gigabyte model (which will cost $349). Besides holding more downloadable games, saved games, and TV shows and movies, the additional memory will be useful for.....

Game discs can now be 'ripped' and stored on the Xbox 360's hard drive - Now you can install your game discs onto the Xbox 360's hard disk drive. The advantages of these are somewhat crippled, to say the least, since you still need to get up and put the disc into the drive to play it (which verifies that you actually paid for and own a disc version of the game). Still, installed games will load load a lot faster than disc based ones and you won't have to put up with all that noise that DVD-ROMs make.

Now, there's even more HD content available for download on Xbox 360 - Microsoft is now calling itself the numero uno source for on-demand HD content, and announced the immediate download availability on Xbox 360 of NBC and Universal shows like 'The Office' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' along with films like 'The Scorpion King.' 10,000 shows and movies are set to be available for download this fall, but we're just psyched that, at last, we don't have to wait a whole season to watch brand new 'Battlestar Galactica' episodes in HD (previously only available on HD in reruns on Universal HD and on the now defunct HD-DVD format).

Instant Netflix comes to your Xbox 360 - We've been rather eagerly awaiting this one, and it's finally official -- Netflix streaming directly to the Xbox 360 is coming this fall. It'll be no additional charge for Netflix subscribers, which is great news. Essentially, it functions exactly like the recently released Roku Netflix box, which is standard definition only and is limited to whatever is in a Netflix subscriber's "Watch Now" queue. Still, that "Watch Now" queue has plenty of first-rate titles to keep any video nut happy.

The new Dashboard is nicer looking and easier to use - The Xbox 360's "blade" Dashboard (a.k.a. interface/onscreen menus) was innovative but, compared to Sony's clean and polished XMB menu system, looks a bit dated. Enter the new Dashboard, which is simpler, cleaner, and leaves room for the next big addition -- avatars.

Xbox 360's new 'Avatars' look an awful lot like Nintendo Miis - Yes, the 360 is taking a cue from the Wii and its Mii's, and adding avatars, in-game, animated representations of yourself that you can custom craft. Unlike a Mii, which is rather simplistic and has very limited options, the Xbox 360 avatars can have custom created bodies, with specific clothes, detailed hairstyles, and loads of other options (sort of like custom characters in many of today's games).. They'll apparently be making in-game appearances too.

'Final Fantasy XIII' is finally coming to the Xbox 360 - The latest edition of the biggest role-playing game franchise on earth is finally hitting Microsoft's console, and it will drop on the same day that it hits the PlayStation 3 in North America and Europe, which means Xbox 360 owners no longer have to feel like they're getting sloppy seconds.. That's quite a coup, and wraps up an understated but ultimately promising conference for Microsoft.

So that, in a nutshell, is what you can expect on Xbox 360 in the coming months. For a detailed recap, make sure to read through Engadget and Joystiq's Live Blog transcript from the conference.

Video games that get gamers off the couch are usually the most fun, especially when there are friends around to laugh at you (and, of course, to be laughed at in turn). Lately music games like 'Rock Band' and 'Guitar Hero' have turned non-seated gaming into an art form, and a new Xbox 360 game coming from Microsoft and Codemasters, called 'You're In the Movies,' could take it into the world of acting.

'The Movies' works with Microsoft's Xbox Live Vision camera and tasks gamers with competing in simple mini-games, like trying to swat a bunch of flies on-screen or run in place as quickly as possible. The games themselves aren't too exciting, but they're actually just a ploy to make you do silly motions on-screen. After a series of such challenges, the game takes the video it recorded of all the players and stitches it together into a short movie trailer. At today's press conference held at the annual E3 video games convention, we were shown an example made to look like a '50s monster movie complete with an overgrown iguana, with footage of you and your friends seamlessly integrated into it, no blue-screen required!

It looks like it could be a ton of fun for parties with dramatic-minded participants when it releases sometime this fall. Price wasn't stated, but expected it around the $60 mark including a Vision camera, which isn't a bad deal.

After months of speculation and rumors, Microsoft just announced that it's partnering with Netflix to allow Xbox 360 owners to stream movies from their Netflix queues for no extra charge. Microsoft says the 360 will be the only game system that allows Netflix access for no additional cost -- which isn't entirely accurate, since it sounds like only Live Gold members will get access.

Streaming movies can also be shared with your Live party, allowing you to watch content together. Users will have instant access to their Netflix instant access queues, but it's not clear what resolution the content will be streamed at -- we'd guess it's roughly the same DVD-quality res that Roku's Netflix streamer is getting for now, but hopefully that'll change when the service launches in the fall with the new dashboard.

For more news and up-to-the-second coverage from E3, head on over to Engadget and joystiq.